Attack on security convoy in Kabul kills 3

by Agencies , (Last Updated July 27, 2018)

KABUL: A Taliban suicide bomber targeted a convoy belonging to the Afghan intelligence service in Kabul on Thursday, killing three officers and wounding five people, including three civilians, a security official said.

The three slain officers and two of the wounded were members of the intelligence service, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the group targeted intelligence service members returning from a mission.

Kabul police chief Daud Amin said the bomber struck in the morning in western Kabul and that the area has been blocked off by the intelligence service. Ghafor Azizi, 5th district police chief in western Kabul, said two vehicles caught fire in the attack.

Earlier, an official in the Health Ministry said three wounded civilians were taken to hospital.

The attack reflects how the war between Afghan forces and the insurgents has gone unabated, despite attempts to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table.

On Sunday, an Afghan military operation by commando units in northeastern Kapisa province left at least 12 insurgents dead, including a Taliban shadow governor and district chief.

And late Tuesday, in eastern Ghazni province, around 40 students from a religious school were detained by Afghan security forces on suspicious of having links to the Taliban. Authorities say the suspects are under investigation but Mujahid claimed security forces had detained innocent people from the school.